Papeda

Papeda has historically been one of the main ways of making sago, which is an important carbohydrate product for many peoples of the eastern part of the Malay archipelago . In the diet of the indigenous inhabitants of Molucca, certain regions of Sulawesi, as well as the Papuan peoples of the western part of New Guinea, this dish plays a particularly important role - comparable to the one that cooked rice plays in the diet of most peoples of Southeast Asia ^{[1] [2] [3]} .

The name “ Papeda ” is of Ambonian origin ^[4] and is common to most places where the preparation of this dish is accepted ^{[3] [5]} . In South Sulawesi, it is also known as " kapurung " ( indon. Kapurung ) ^[6] .

From a culinary point of view, the preparation of papeda is an extremely simple process: saga flour is diluted with water, after which the resulting substance is cooked over low heat and at the same time is intensively mixed to maintain a uniform consistency. Often, manufacturers do even without cooking: the flour is diluted with a small amount of cold water, and then boiling water is added to it, after which the porridge is brought to uniform density again, due to stirring. Salt or sugar may be added to the flour mash. In the finished form, the dish is a thick translucent mass of grayish color, rather sticky - like starch paste ^{[3] [5] [7]} .

In some areas of New Guinea, tapioca is sometimes mixed in when preparing papa in sago, but this is most often caused by a lack of sago, and local residents consider such a papa “not real” ^[8] .

For mixing papeda, a special cutlery is usually used, traditional for the corresponding regions of Indonesia - gata-gata ( indon. Gata-gata ). It consists of two wooden or bamboo chopsticks fastened at the base - a kind of undivided pair of chopsticks , but much larger. The same device is used to extract the finished papeda from the dishes and distribute it: by immersing a pair of gata-gata in the papa, they rotate the necessary portion of porridge with rotational movements ^{[7] [9] [10]} .

Papeda is served both hot and cold, in deep bowls or pots . It is noteworthy that in the Moluccas it is customary not to eat with spoons, but to suck it directly from bowls. Among the inhabitants of the archipelago, the ability to suck in a large portion of papeda at a time is appreciated ^[7] .

As a seasoning for papeda, the Cholo-cholo sauce ( indonesian colo-colo ), which is a mixture of finely chopped onions , chopped pickled vegetables and dried fish , diluted with vinegar , is especially popular among the Moluccans ^[7] . In Papuans, it is customary to season it with red pepper , soy sauce , pulp or lime juice and other citrus fruits ^{[3] [5]} .

Papeda can serve as an independent dish, as well as a side dish for other dishes - fish, meat , vegetable . In Moluccas, the most popular addition to it is fried fish of various species, in the west of New Guinea - a special thick tuna soup cooked with many spices and spices and has a bright yellow color. Also among the Papuans it is customary to add papeda to fish soups and broths , as a result of which it turns into a kind of dumpling ^{[3] [5] [10]} .

In many areas of western New Guinea, papeda is not only the most important everyday dish, but also an integral attribute of community holidays and religious ceremonies ^{[3] [5]} .

• Korigodsky R.N., Kondrashkin O.N., Zinoviev B.I., Loshchagin V.N. Large Indonesian-Russian Dictionary. - M. , 1990. - T. 2. M - Z. - S. 108. - 494 p. - ISBN 5-200-00808-5 .
• Diana Glazebrook. Permissive Residents: West Papuan Refugees Living in Papua New Guinea. - ANU E Press, 2008 .-- 157 p. - ISBN 9781921536236 .
• Rose Prince. Real Tastes of Indonesia. - Prahran: Hardie Grant Books, 2009 .-- 288 p. - ISBN 978-174-06-6820-0 .
• Tineke Hellwig, Eric Tagliacozzo. The Indonesia Reader: History, Culture, Politics. - Duke University Press, 2009 .-- 477 p. - ISBN 9780822392279 .
• Dapur dan Alat-Alat Memasak Tradisional Daerah Maluku. - Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1987.